












'o . . " ,0 




THOMAS CRAWFORD JOHNSTON 



Geographical Society 



OF 



CALIFORNIA 



SPECIAL BULLETIN 



A PAPER BY 

Thomas Crawford Johnston, Esq. 



"DID THE PHCENICIANS DISCOVER AHERICA?" 

EMBRACING 

The Origin of the Aztecs, with some Further Light on Phcenician Civilization and 
Colonization. 

The Origin of the Mariners' Compass. 

The Original Discovery of America. 



ILLUSTRATED 



Appearing in the "Californian Illustrated Magazine, 
November and December, 1892 



Copyright, 1802, by Thomas Crawford Johnston 






^. /3 '/f 



PREFACE. 



Perhaps no question has so niucii perplexed the scientists of the past four hundred 
years as the vexed one of the origin of the Aztecs and the ancient and high civilization of 
Central America that confronted the Spanish conquerors on their arrival, and that up to the 
present period has received no satisfactory solution. It is therefore with great pleasure 
that this Society presents to the scientific world the following most valuable and scholarly 
l)aper of Mr. Johnston's which seems in a fair way to clear up the mystery which has so 
long shrouded this interesting region. 

In order that this desirable result may be attained we invite the co-operation of the 
learned in this and other countries and shall be happy to receive communications either 
throwing, light on the three absorbing topics embraced in tliis paper or inviting discussion 
on whatsoever points may appear doubtful, so that d'accord with Mr. Johnston we may be 
enabled to furnish such information as the vast fund of material which he has collected 
bearing on those topics can afford, and which he has hitherto abstained from utilizing in his 
work with a view to the attention of the reader not being diverted from the main issues by 
its length. 

In the meantime we venture to make a few remarks which may possibly be of some 
assistance in arriving at a decision with regard to the correctness of Mr. Johnston's 
theory. 

According to the traditions still existing amongst the Central Americans, and so much of 
the Aztec manuscript literature as escaped the destructive hands of the Spaniards and is 
to be found in the elaborate work of the Abbe Brasseur de Bourbourg, the earliest Amer- 
ican civilization originated in Yucatan and the neighboring districts, a region which is 
amongst the most fertile in the New World. There, about 1000 b. c, Votan, the first of 
the American legislators, established himself, and Palenque, said to be the oldest city in 
Central America, was founded. He and his people evidently came from the West for it is 
stated that they found the whole coast from Darien to California occupied by a barbarous 
people, thus showing that their first discoveries were made on that, and not on the Eai<t side 
of the continent, at the same time that it will be apparent to any one acquainted with the 
geographical configuration of this region that this journey must have been undertaken in 
ships and not by land. Votan appears to have made four voyages to and from his original 
country and stated that in one of them he visited the " dwelling of the thirteen serpents" 
(Benares) as also the ruins of an old build ing which had been erected, by men for the purpose of 
reaching heaven. Now these four voyages M'ould seem to correspond to an equal number 
of the joint ones of the Jews and Phoenicians, which, according to the best historic infor- 
mation, ceased with the death of Solomon — viz. , in forty -five years, but at what period those 
of the Phd'nicians, when undertaken alone, came to an end, it is impossi])le to determine 
with the limited knowledge at our disi)osal . 

We have here, however, facts which have long been within the scope and cognizance of 
the scientific world; the great difficulty consisted in ascertaining the nationality of the 
strangers who arrived on the west coast of America clad " in long flowing robes " and who 
had evidently visited Benares and the ruins of the Tower of Babel as above intimated. 
The identification of two stages of the voyage was thus established, but what were the 
intermediate ones? How were the vast intervening spaces traversed at a period when 
navigation was comparatively in its infancy ? The solution of this difficulty seems to have 
been overcome by Mr. Johnston. Being familiar with the history and architecture of the 
Phcenicians and Aztecs and with the facts above stated, he was fortunately placed on the 

5 



6 PREFACE. 

track of discovery of the missing links in Votan's voyages by the examination of the 
massive masonry existing in many of the Polynesian Islands which he spent a considerable 
time in visiting, and which api)eared to him to be of indisimtably PlKvnician origin. There 
still remained one problem not easy to solve, viz., how the Pluenicians.if the builders of 
that masonry and the original discoverers of America were really of that nation, could find 
their way across considerable stretches of ocean without the aid of the pole star which in 
ancient times was their guide in the northern hemisphere — that difficulty, however, in Mr. 
Johnston's opinion, disappeared when he discovered a design of the mariner's compass in 
the celebrated so-called Mexican calendar stone, the antiquity of which is unknown and 
whose origin he also ascribes to the same source. (In this connection it may be mentioned 
that this Society has recently received from Don Leopold Batres, the INIexican Govern- 
ment arclueologist, a pamphlet descriptive of this stone which he calls the " Piedra de 
Agua " or " Water Stone," possibly on account of the Aztec hieroglyphic for Avater being 
found at the foot of the southern point of the compass. 

It might seem strange that the Phoenicians sliould make use of that instrument in 
their voyages in the Indian and Pacific Oceans and their acquaintance with it not be sus- 
pected during the long duration of their navigation in the Mediterranean, to the Cassiterides 
or Tin Islands, the Baltic Sea, etc., but this may be accounted for as being one of the precau- 
tions they adopted to conceal their routes of travel from iwssible rivals. That they should have 
preserved this secret for so long a period does not however seem more strange than the loss 
of the secret known to them for tempering copper. It may here be added that among 
the Jews and Phienicians the south pole was the emphasized point, being considered by 
them the right hand of the world, and if we seek tlie magnetic positive pole of the earth 
it is the south pole, because the negative point of the needle vibrates in that direction, 
demonstrating that the Phu'uician compass was scientifically more correct than the modern 
one. 

It has been objected that the PlKenician ships were not of sufficient size either to con- 
tain an adequate quantity of provisions and water for a voyage of any great length or even 
to make those voyages if in the open sea. The following quotation from the Encyclopedia 
Britannica would seem to be a conclusive answer. " It is not hard to understand how the 
ancients made navigation also an invention of the Phcenicians, whose skill as seamen was 
never matched by any ancient people before or after them. Even in later times Greek 
observers noted with admiration the exact order kept on board Phcenician ships, the 
skill with which every corner of space was utilized, the careful disposition of the cargo, 
the vigilance of the steersmen and their mates. All their vessels, from the common round 
" gaulos " to the great Tharshish ships, the East Indiamen, so to speak, of the ancient 
world, had a speed which the Greeks never rivalled." 

Another point has already given rise to criticism, viz., that ]Mr. Johnston should lay 
so much stress on the enormous quantities of gold brought to Judje and Tyre on the 
return voyages of the Phcenicians. The expressed idea is that it w^as imported from Arabia 
and India and not from America. True it is that, according to x chap. 1st Kings — the 
Queen of Sheba presented Solomon with one hundred and twenty talents of gold (about 
.$3,600,000) ; the Phtenician contributions w^ere, however, far greater. But when the source 
of supply of another precious metal, silver, has to be determined, it is clear that it cannot 
be ascribed to either of those two countries and that such a seemingly fabulous quantity as, 
according to the same authority, was received by Solomon (who on that account seems not 
to have set much value on tlie metal) can only have come from such large silver producing 
regions as iMexico and Peru. A great deal was undoubtedly brought from Spain, but this 
consideration is entirely irrelevant to the voyages commenced at the head of the Red Sea 
and ending with cargoes of " gold, silver, ivory, ai)es and peacocks" the latter of which 
could only come from India. 

Mr. Johnston begins the title of his paper with the words, " Origin of the Aztecs," 
but scientists will at once recognize that this is simply a generic term covering the 



PREFACE. 7 

various divisions and subdivisions of the races occupying tlie regions in question 
prior to the arrival of the Spaniards — supposing Mr. Jolmston's theory to be correct. 
Those races must be considered in a great measure the issue of the inter-marriages 
of the Phoenicians with the so-called savages whom they found in occupation of the country, 
but whom they may possibly have so designated because they were not eciually civilized 
with themselves. 

According to Biart ( " Les Aztecs " ) it is beyond all doubt that tlie monuments to be 
found in the ruins of the extremely ancient cities of the whole of Central America are the 
work of a single race executed in different ages and obeying identical conditions of art and 
civilization. 

Dr. Morton divides the American races into two primitive ones — the Toltecan and the 
American — the former embracing the civilized nations of Mexico, Peru and Bogota, the 
civilization of the Bogotese being, like their geographical position, intermediate between 
the Peruvian and Mexican. That civilization was clearly derived from the same 
source and we can now give a little attention to that of Peru so far as regards resemblances 
between their arts and those of the Pluenicians, for instance : their masonry was of an 
exceptional character ; like the Phccnicians they understood mechanics sutiiciently to move 
stones of vast size, even of thirty feet in length, of which specimens are still to be seen at 
Cuzco and which are of an identical nature with those found at Mayapam, on the Island of 
Rappa, and as substructions of Solomon's temple; they had the art of squaring blocks for 
building with great accuracy ;and it is now known that the Peruvians had hard chisels made of 
copper with a mixture of thirteen per cent of tin, a proof of considerable experience in the 
Avorking of metals. This would coincide with what we learn of Phoenician proficiency in 
metallurgy and especially their well-known skill in the use of bronze. 

AVe may now conclude with a slight resume of similarities to be found between the two 
nations and which may tend to still further elucidate Mr. Johnston's theory and prove its 
■correctness. 

1. Wlien the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, Cortez received from Montezuma charts of 
the harbors on the coast and we know from Herodotus that the Pluenicians were accustomed 
to survey those with which they traded. 

2. It is scarcely necessary to recall the fact tluit lioth the Aztecs and Phtenicians were 
trades on a large scale. 

3. They were equally expert in gem engraving and the manufacture of jewelry. 

4. To both of them the use of paper was common, with the Pluenicians in the shape of 
papyrus; with the Aztecs, manufactured from leaves, especially those of the aloe. 

^ 5. They had an almost identical cosmogony. 

6. The earliest traditions of the history of the world, including the deluge, the build- 
ing of the Tower of Babel, and the confusion of languages were common to both. 

7. An intensely spiritual conception of the Deity was a distinctive feature of the early 
religious worship of both peoples, while the decadence of the Phcenician worship which 
ultimately degenerated into the appalling custom of human sacrifice was equally true in the 
case of the Aztecs, at the same time that that decadence and the successive changes in the 
modes of worship might almost seem to have been contemporaneous at what, according to 
Mr. .lohnston, might well be called the extremities of the Ph(enician empire. 

Still quoting M. Biart: " At the festivals in honor of Tlaloc, the Aztec Neptune, he was 
worshipped with strange ceremonies and human sacrifices, especially of children, and in 
the cemetery not long since discovered by M. Desire Cliarnay on one of the slopes of Popo- 
catapetl only bones of children were found ; it is therefore considered by the learned Dr. 
Hamy as the burial place of the young victims so sacrificed. It scarcely needs to be repeated 
that this was also a peculiar feature of Phwnician worship. 

8. Duplicates of the gigantic aqueducts built by the Ph(enicians for Solomon are to 
be found in Mexico. 

9. The Lotus was a decoration common to both nations. 



8 PREFACE. 

10. The existence in both c-ouutries of a calendar of apparently ideiitical origin. M. 
Biart considers that the chief title of tlie Aztecs to glory even in the eyes of Enropeans 
has for a long time been their calendar which, being a lunar one, presents the principles of 
both the Egyptian and Asiatic (Mr. Johnston has pleaded for the snbstitntion of the word 
" Phfvnician " for "Egyptian.") For the rest the Spaniards discovered that the Aztecs 
were in possession of a calendar, which, to their great astonishment was fonnd to l)e more 
correct than the Gregorian. 

This preface cannot be considered complete without a reference to the centenary of 
Columbus' discovery of this Continent, which just now constitutes one of the most prom- 
inent topics throughout the world. Should even an universal consensus of scientific opinion 
be in favor of Mr. Johnston's theory it would not detract in the smallest degree from the 
merits of that great man, owing toAvhose adventurous s})irit we are now enjoying the bene- 
fits of that discovery and not to the deeds of an extinct race however worthy of admiration 
and respect. 

To, the members of this Society it is unnecessary to introduce Mr. Johnston as he has 
already made his mark in this city. To kindred Societies we recommend a careful perusal 
of his paper which will, we think, give them ample indication of the fine type of mind 
which has been employed in the laborious elucidation of the, at first sight, most intricate 
}>roblems which it discusses. 

In order that the topics of absorbing interest contained in ]Mr. Johnston's paper may 
obtain all possible publicity and a wide local field be opened for their discussion arrange- 
ments have been made for its publication in the now widely known Cah'foniian Illustrated 
Magazine. 

This special bulletin will shortly be followed liy the ordinary bulletin containing the 
proceedings of the Society. 

J. STUDDY LEIGH 

Secretary. 

San Francisco, September 15, 1892 



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'^^'^i.. 



Fig. I— Aztec Calendar <ir 



Water Stone. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA ? 



No. I. 



BY THOMAvS CR.WVFORD JOHNSTON. 



LIEUTENANT A. G. FINDLAY, 
F. R. G. S., in describing the 
stone remains on the Island of 
Rappa, in the Austral group, says in 
his • " South Pacific Directory : ' " "On 
the summit of .six of the highest hills 
are to be seen square terraces, or forti- 
fied places, some of which are of very 
elaborate construction ; but what is 
very singular, they are mostly solid 
within. The .stones are well squared, 
of very large size, and well cemented, 
and are evidently analogous to the 
terraces described on Easter Is- 
land." 

x\gain, in describing Easter Island, 
he savs : ' ' This is one of the most 



interesting spots in the Pacific. It is 
remarkably isolated, as it is some two 
thousand and thirty miles from the 
coa.st of Chile, and one thousand five 
hundred miles from the nearest inhab- 
ited land, except Pitcairn Island, so 
that its people and their history are 
an ethnological problem, worthy of 
much consideration, while their origin 
i.s one of the most important prol^lems 
connected with the migrations of races. 
How the early navigators in their 
canoes managed to reach this lonely 
spot, in the teeth of the usual 
tradewinds, is one of those mysteries, 
the solution of which would clear up 
manv difficulties in the history of 



lO 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



the early races and ci\ilization of 
Peru and Central America. 

" The character of the architectural 
and other remains evidently ])()iuts to 







^■^■''> iJl^' 



Kig. 2 — Sieumanu, Governor of Apia, Samoa. 

an Eastern origin. This little island, 
therefore, as a stepping-stone to the 
solution of this question, is of more 
than ordinary intere.st. Its position 
should afford a clue to the mystery of 
its original settlers. It is near the 
southern verge of the .southeast trades, 
which blow during the Southern 
summer, from October to April, when 
they commence and leave off, being 
strong for about a fortnight. During 
the rest of the year, it is in the tropi- 
cal variables. For a few months, 
westerly winds prevail, which l)ring 
much rain. It is therefore probable 
that this was the time of the voyage ; 
but how such a craft could be guided 
due east, without a compa.ss, will be 
a m3-ster\- to modern navigators. 

"The papakoo, or cemetery, on 
Ea.ster I.sland, is a terrace, or platform, 
bv the sea, made of rolled .sea stones 



carefully fitted together ; but another 
very singular structure found there 
is the platform on which numerous 
images have been placed. They are 
built on the land facing the .sea, and 
constructed with large unhewn stones 
fitted with great exactness. On this 
platform are numerous images, now 
prostrate ; .some low pillars, appar- 
enth' used for sacrifice, and others for 
burning bodies, as burnt bones were 
found near them. Similar platforms 
have been found in the islands to the 
northwestward, especially one l)uried 
under guano, on Maldon Island, and 
this, again, connects them with anal- 
ogous ruins in Peru." 

Mr. Rawlinson .says of the Gibeon- 
ites : ' ' They were specially skilled 
in the hewing and squaring of 
tho.se great ma.s.ses of stone with 
which the Phoenicians were wont 
to build, and we probably see their 
work in those recentl}' uncovered 
l)locks of enormous size, which 
formed the substructions of Solo- 
mon's Temple (i Kings, v. i8j. 
_^ At a later date, they were noted as 
'caulkers,' and were employed by 
the Tyrians, to make their ves- 
•sels water-tight, Ezekiel (27 and 
29)." 
That there should be any connec- 
tion l)et\veen the Phoenician race, the 
origin of the Aztecs, the mariner's 
compa.ss, the ancient cities and high 
civilization of Central America, the 
.sub.structions foimd on the Islands of 
the Pacific, and tho.se of Solomon's 
Temple, .seems too wonderful to be 
true, and yet I think that the data 




kj^^f^^mmi: 



l^;^^.ji^: 



Fig. 3 — Easter IslanJ Platform, center stone five and a 
half tons. 



contained in this paper will remove 
any future doubt on this subject. 
During a year and a half spent 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



among the Islands of the South 
Pacific, just prior to the Samoan war, 
I came across some facts that so 
arrested ni}^ attention as to awaken a 
new line of inquiry, that in course of 
time has woven itself into a series of 
connected and inter-related data, of so 
extraordinary and far-reaching a 
nature, that I now feel that it is time 
to call the attention of the scientific 
world to them, in order that a larger 
field of observation, and a moie 
numerous body of capable investi- 
gators may verify or contradict the 
conclusion arrived at. 

Those who are acquainted with 
Mr. Rawlinson's scholarly work on 
the Phoenicians may remember his 
description of these people. He 
says : ' ' They were of a complexion 
intermediate between the pale races 
of the North and the swart inhabi- 
tants of the South, having abundant 
hair, sometimes curly, but never 
woolly. They were above the me- 
dium height, and had features not 
unlike the Aryans, or Caucasians, 
but somewhat less refined and regu- 
lar, the nose broadish and inclined 
to be hooked, the lips a little too 
full, and their frames inclined to 
stoutness and massiveness, while 
both in form and feature they resem- 
bled the Jews, who were their near 
neighbors, and not infrequently inter- 
married with them." 

It is impossible for one to spend even 
a short time in Samoa without realizing 
how suitable such a description would 
be if applied to the Samoans, while 
each day's observation of them, their 
habits and customs, would only deepen 
the conviction that the observer was 
in contact with a people whose social 
usages must, at some possibly remote 
period, have been in very close touch 
with Hebrew institutions. The only 
point on which there is any weakness 
in the description is the no.se, and 
this is easily accounted for b}" a curi- 
ous cu.stom that prevails over these 
islands of manipulating the cartilages, 
while the child is young, so that what 
the}' call the disfigurement of the 



' ' canoe nose ' ' of the Semitic may be 
removea — a custom that is univer- 
sal over these islands. Not only 
is there to be found circumcision and 
the test of virginit}-, neither of which 
has the adopted Christianity of to-day 
removed, but marriage itself is hedged 
about with restrictions in the form of 
a table of consanguinity that is almost 







Fig. 4- LaiK-uti, ^Kuinanii ^ WHl-. 

a duplicate of that found in the Bible, 
while the intensely .spiritual form of 
the earl}' native worship, with an 
almost total ab.sence of idols, gives 
cause to look for further evidence of 
the relation that at some date mu.st 
have existed between tlie.se people. 

I am aware that there are many 
other and different types found in that 
region, but that is only what may be 
expected when we recollect the influ- 
ences that have been at work, and the 
time that has elapsed since the first 
.settlement. This, however, does not 
weaken but rather strengthens the 
claim of such evidence as we now find 
of the presence of the Phoenicians in 
that portion of the Pacific. 

That a high civilization, having an 
identical origin, mu.st, at some remote 
period, have prevailed throughout 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



Polynesia, no one who has come in 
contact with the native usages, and 
the various stone remains on Easter, 
Rappa, Ascension, Marshall, Gilbert, 
Ladrones, Swallow, Strong's, Navi- 
gator, and Hawaiian Islands, can for 
a moment doubt ; and, curioush' 
enough, the native traditions of all of 
them refer their origin to some land ly- 
ing in the direction of the setting sun. 
The relation of Stronu's Island to 



round tlie harl)()r, which had been 
occupied b}^ a powerful people called 
'Anut,' who had large vessels in 
which they made long voyages east 
and west. Many moons being re- 
quired for the.se voyages." 

When we come eastward, and reach 
Mexico, we find the evidence of their 
presence intensified a thousandfold, 
not only in the architectural remains 
where the conglomerate decorations 




'^','^1^ 



;-^.. 







■c^ 




l'"ig. 5 — Ft'isamoa, Ctiift 



lad Dress. 



this line of research is a peculiarly 
interesting one. At the entrance to 
the harbor may l)e .seen a quad- 
rangular tower, forty feet high, and 
.some stone-lined canals, while on the 
adjacent island of Hele are cyclopean 
walls formed of very large stones, 
well squared, which form an enclosure 
overgrown by forests. The.se w^alls 
are twelve feet thick, and in them are 
vaults, artificial caverns, and .secret 
passages. The natives of this i.sk.nd 
have a remarkable tradition, namely : 
"That an ancient citv formerlv stood 



carry the marks of their peculiar genius 
as clearly as the Greek does in its 
own wa\-, but also in the form of relig- 
ious worship, which is clearly Phoeni- 
cian in its base and entire outline. 

The human sacrifice, and the idol, 
half-man and half-brute, are lieyond 
question tho.se of the Phoenician Baal 
or Moloch ; while on the various 
bronzes we .see the winged disc of 
Egypt,-'- which Mr. Rawlinson men- 
tions as one of their peculiar designs. 
And perhaps more curious still, we 

* Kig. 17, in Part II. this article. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



13 



find among the remains of this people 
in the ancient and Capital city of 
Mexico what has been called a calen- 
dar stone (Fig. i), which anyone may 
see at a glance is a national monument 
of a seafaring people in the form of a 
mariner's compass, and to which they 
j^robably attributed the fact that they 
had discovered this new world. 



entire thirtj'-two parts into which 
what we are accustomed to call our 
improved compass is divided are pres- 
ent, while in the main point will be 
.seen the faces of Cox and Cox, the 
Mexican Noah and his wife, the first 
recorded navigators, and underneath 
these the Aztec symbol for water. 
The wonder does not, however, 




Fig. 6— Siotolana, Maid of Village Samoa. 



On looking at this stone carefully, 
it will be noticed that the only feature 
giving weight to the Calendar theor}- 
is the hieroglyphics on the inner 
circle, which correspond to the twenty- 
day month of the Aztec. When, how- 
ever, we read the stone as a memorial 
of the compass, it is far otherwise, for 
it will be seen that there is not only a 
north and a south, but also the other 
and remaining cardinal points, duly 
emphasized; and amazing to relate, 
not onlv this, but in subdivisions the 



cease here; for if we place the .stone in 
the correct position with reference to 
the .sun-god, in the center, it will be 
observed that the determined point is 
not north but .south, and that in this 
respect it is identical with the Chinese 
compa.ss, indicating that it mu.st have 
had its origin among a people accus- 
tomed to navigate in latitudes to the 
south of their permanent home. 

Now this so corresponds with our 
knowledge of the main trend of early 
Plioenician navigation and commerce 



14 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



as to form a fresh and interesting link 
in this chain of evidence ; and this the 
more so because we know that the 
Chinese compass was a rude and 
altogether unsatisfactory instrument, 
having only twenty - four points, 
whereas we find in this the evi- 
dence of a comprehensive apprehen- 
sion of the scientific value and use of 
the instrument, which were essential 
to the wide-spread navigation, and 
characteristic of the finished work 
and mathematical precision of the 



Ocean, where the pole-star cannot be 
seen, and where, indeed, if it could, 
the knowledge of its existence would 
be of little use to them. All steering 
is done by a determined north; either 
a true north or a magnetic north, and 
we know that the magnetic qualities 
of metals were known to the Phoeni- 
cians, for Sanchoniathon ascriljes to 
Chronos the invention of "Batulia," 
or ' ' stones that moved as if the}' had 
life," and we know that Chronos 
lived two thousand eight hundred 




Fig. 7 — Easter Island Platform. 



Phoenicians. Ikit apart from this, there 
are some historic facts in existence 
which, while isolated, might be 
questionable data, that in connection 
with this receive a new value. 

That the Phoenicians ventiu'ed on 
long voyages, there can be no ques- 
tion, for Herodotus makes a distinct 
statement to this effect, and says they 
were accustomed to steer b}- the pole- 
star. In this he simply wrote as a 
landsman would. Mariners do not 
steer south by east, or due east or 
west, as these Phoenicians were 
accustomed to do on their historic 
route, by the pole-.star, for the 
simple reason that the main trend of 
their navioation was in the Indian 



3'ears before Christ. We therefore 
conclude that the knowledge must 
have passed from the Phoenicians into 
China, the more so because McDavies, 
whose elaborate investigation of the 
history of the compass has made him 
one of the eminent authorities on this 
subject, .states that the earliest date at 
which it was known in China was 
2604 H. C: and, curiou.sly enough, 
the term u.sed l)y the Chinese two 
hundred years after Chronos, is 
almost identical in its significance 
with that of the Phoenicians, the 
Chinese compass being called the 
Tche Cha}', or directing .stone. 

The liistor}' of the Phoenicians was 
a remarkable one for manv rea.sons. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



15 



for apart from, the fact that thtv 
claimed to be the most ancient of 
mankind, and in their day exercised 
an influence on the world that in these 
late years finds a suitable counterpart 
only in the liistor}' of the scientific, 
connnercial and philological suprem- 
acy of the English-speaking peoples, 
vet their ruling characteristic seems 



time, they were on the most familiar 
footing, the Egyptians, Hebrews, 
Assyrians, Babylonians, Greeks and 
Persians not only welcoming them to 
their territory, but, as if by mutual 
compact, protecting their caravans and 
opening their ports to their merchant- 
men, whose business it was to cater 
to their needs and adapt themselves to 



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<f( !i.» 






.X 



vj^ V "^ \ s.''-^ 






%^ 






iO). 






Fig. 8 — Easter Island Platform. 



to have been not so much their indi- 
vidualit}" as their pliability — a char- 
acteristic that was absolutelj- essential 
to their colonial and commercial suc- 
ce.ss. 

They .seem to have had a wonderful 
faculty of adapting themselves to 
every condition of human life, and to 
the peculiar bias and feeling of the 
varied civilized and uncivilized peo- 
ples with whom they came in contact 
in course of their mercantile ventures. 
The\' were not warriors, although 
the}- did and could fight when occa- 
sion called for it, but eveir then, as 
Alexander found, the quality that was 
opposed to his force of arms was not 
warriors .so much as men of the 
keenest intellectualit}^ who used that 
power b}' methods never dreamed of 
by their duller opponents. 

With all the great nations of their 



the requirements of every country 
with which they had established bu.si- 
ness relations. 

In con.sequence of this fact, as Mr. 
Ravvlin.son points out, their commer- 
cial relations with tlie.se varied peoples 
had a reflex influence on themselves, 
their work, wherever found, showing 
that in their metallurgy their motives 
are invariably either Egyptian or 
As.syrian, while their .sculptures u.su- 
ally showed a large admixture of 
Greek. 

This is a most important point, and 
I seek to emphasize it, for it is the 
ke}' to what, up to this date, has been 
an unsolved enigma of unusual impor- 
tance, the solution of which Avill .set 
in operation a new set of facts, whose 
influence will be so far-reaching as to 
afford more or less light on some of 
the most interesting as well as per- 



i6 



DID THE PHOnNICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



plexing of the ethnological and 
philoloi^ical prol)lenis of to-day. 

Of all the nations of their time, the 
Phoenicians stood in the front rank. 
In the practical ai'ts, as well as in the 
exact sciences, they were in their o\Yn 
wide sphere, without a competitor. 
They were masons, dyers, glass- 
blowers, workers in metal, and at the 
same time carpenters and shipbuilders, 
but beyond all other peoples, navi- 
gators and explorers, being- the first 
to face the dangers of the open ocean, 
and make known to civilized nations, 
not only the remoter regions of Asia, 
Africa and Europe, but, as I think I 
shall succeed in demonstrating, the 
first to discover America, and the 
authors of the ancient and higli civil- 
ization found there, which, up to this 
time, has been an unsolv'ed enigma. 

Of the wares which they purveyed 
to the various nations using their 
commodities, man}- samples have in 




Kig. 9 — Aztec Vase with Assyrian D 



these late years ])een found, that give 
nnich light on the influences that 
seem to have been at work in the 
manufacturing establishments of this 
extraordinary people, and as this is 
essential to a complete understanding 
of the subject. I may say that Mr. 
Rawlinson, whom I have followed 
closely in this investigation, points 



out that the Phoenicians had two 
instructors in their gem engraving, 
namely, Babylon and Kgj^pt, deriving 
from each certain features of their 
practice. 

Animals, for the most part griffins 
and sphynxes,but often accuratel}' cop- 
ied from nature, form the great staple of 
Phoenician art. The subjects of their 
designs, however, show little orig- 
inalit}', being in almost every cai-e 
adapted either from Egypt or Baby- 
lon — the hawk of Raa, the Egyptian 
sun-god, the cynocephalous ape, 
sphynxes, winged disks and .serpents, 
drawing of an original character being 
shown only in very few instances. 

It is impos.sible to overrate this 
testimony as to the peculiar bent of 
the genius of the Phoenicians, for in 
its own broad line of demarkation, it 
not onl}^ makes them a unique people, 
with an apparent mission to the 
remainder of mankind, but likewi.se 
enabled them to fill what was as 
e.s.sential a .sphere in the populating 
and civilizing of the outskirts of the 
then known world, as was the genius 
of the Greeks for a more limited 
sphere, or of the Jews for the prcser- 
\-ation of a pure moral code, when the 
remainder of mankind had run riot 
with undisciplined excess. 

It is not strange that it was so. 
Indeed, it was on just .such lines that 
we would expect to find the genius of 
a great mercantile people develop 
itself, for the reason that their success 
depended in no small measure on 
their recognition of the fact that the 
national, and especially the religious 
prejudice of the peoples to whose 
wants the}- catered must be respected 
as well as stimulated. As artists and 
artificers, there was ample room for 
the exerci.se of their peculiar genius in 
the production of wares who.se form 
and adornment would be acceptable to 
the highest culture, and as merchants 
in i)roviding .such wares as would 
command the readiest sale among the 
wealthier portions of tho.se connnuni- 
ties, where the highest forms of civil- 
ization were found clo.sel}^ a.ssociated 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



17 



with all acceptable forms of gov-ern- 
ment. Of course, in the less civilized 
countries it would not be necessary to 
follow so closely this idea, and the 
various articles in less active demand, 
as style or pattern altered, would 
naturally find their way to the less 
frequented routes. 

The flexibilit}' of the Phoenicians, 
like that of the English, who are their 
modern and legitimate successors in 
their peculiar sphere, was phenomenal . 



tions found in such localities as they 
are supposed to have visited by an 
early English standard, would inev- 
itabl}" build data far removed 
from the real facts of the case. 
The determining quality in such 
matters is neither Saxon nor Nor- 
man ; the .solution will require to 
be found on totally different lines, 
since the strongest evidence of their 
presence wull not be found in any one 
type .so much as in the proof of their 




Fig. 10 — Ruins of Palace at Palenque — after Chariiay. 



He who would attempt to trace, a 
thousand years after this, the course of 
English adventure over the face of the 
earth by comparing the languages 
found in such localities as they w^ere 
.suppo.sed to have visited with the 
vSaxon root, would inevitably fail, for 
the rea.son that it has now incorporated 
inflections from every quarter in which 
English influence has been felt, and 
is, in consequence, the mo.st flexible 
as well as the most conglomerate of 
all modern languages, and will become 
increasingly .so as time and the influ- 
ence of the people and the language 
increa.se. So, also, he that would 
.seek to determine the limit of the 
presence of the English - .speaking 
peoples by mea.suring the .stone erec- 



vensatility, and their faculty to make 
tributary to a wide and pressing com- 
mercial need the best found suitable 
to their purpose, in ever}- countr\- that 
has come in contact with their in- 
fluence, not simph- reproducing 
designs, but with peculiar .skill adapt- 
ing them, with suitable modifications, 
to new- conditions and environ- 
ment. 

In consequence of this fact, we must, 
therefore, expect to find the marks of 
the national life of the Phoenicians 
most pronounced in what were, during 
their time, new localities, and in places 
where the circumscribing and limiting 
influence of a large civilization (which 
is usualh- con.servative) is ab.sent ; and 
in con.sequence of this fact, it may be 



i8 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



wise to consider shortly one or two 
points. 

As masons, the Phcenicians were in 
request l)y Solomon in the erection of 
the temple ; and as the record of this 
association will be helpful in the 
elucidation of this prol>lem, I will 
refer to it shorth'. 

It is doubtless well known to all 
readers of vScripture that a warm 
friendship existed between Hiram, 
King of Tyre (by which name Phoeni- 
cia at that time went), and David, 
King of Israel. In i Kings, 5th 
chapter, we read : ' ' And Hiram, 
King of Tyre, sent his sen-ants unto 
Solomon; for he had heard that the}- 
had anointed him king in the room of 
his father: for Hiram was ever a lover 
of David." What the nature of the 
message .sent to the young King ot 
Israel by this old friend of his father's 
was, we do not know, but it is appar- 
ent from what follows, that it was a 
message that contained much more 
than mere congratulation, and was 
probably accompanied by an offer to 
the son and successor of some tangible 
evidence of the warmth of his feelings 
towards the memor}- of his deceased 
father, and of his interest in the future 
of the young king ; however that may 
be, the reply .sent by Solomon showed 
his peculiar fitness for the onerous 
position that he had been called to 
fill, and bore on the face of it evidence 
of .so lofty an affection for his deceased 
parent, and so loyal a desire to carr}- 
out his la.st wi.^h, that Hiram not only 
acceded to the request of Solomon, 
but in the words of the .seventh verse 
of the chapter " rejoiced greatly and 
.said, ble.s.sed be the Dord this day, 
which hath given unto David a wise 
.son to rule over this great people." 

The result of this interesting and 
affecting exchange of courtesies be- 
tween the old and the young kings 
was that Hiram undertook in con- 
junction with Solomon the erection of 
the temple at Jeru.salem, in fulfillment 
of David's last wish, and also of the 
projected palace of Solomon at 
Lebanon. Hiram, undertaking to 



fell the necessary timl)ers for both 
buildings in the forests ofDebanon, 
bring them down the rivers on the 
winter floods, and deliver them in 
rafts to such ports as Solomon should 
find to be most desirable, the only 
.stipulation mentioned was that Sol- 
omon provide food for the various 
camps or households of workmen fur- 
nished by Hiram. Of the .stupendous 
nature of the operations, which were 
in this manner inaugurated, we may 
form some idea from the following 
quotation from i Kings, 5th chap- 
ter. ' ' And the Lord gave Solomon 
wisdom, as he had promised him: and 
there was peace between Hiram and 
Solomon; and they two made a league 
together. And King Solomon raised 
a levy out of all Israel; and the levy 
was thirty thousand men. And he .sent 
to Lebanon ten thousand a month bj^ 
cour.ses ; a month they were in Leb- 
anon, and two months at home; and 
Adoniram was over the lev}'. And 
Solomon had threescore and ten thou- 
sand that bare burdens, and fourscore 
thousand hewers in the mountains ; 
Besides the chief of Solomon's officers, 
which were over the \vork, three thou- 
sand and three hundred, which ruled 
over the people that wrought in the 
work . 

"And the King commanded and 
they brought great stones, co.stly .stones, 
and hewed stones to la}' the founda- 
tion of the hou.se. And Solomon's 
builders and Hiram's builders did hew 
them, and the .stoncsquarers; so they 
prepared timber and .stone to build the 
hou.se." That is, there were thirty 
thou.sand timber fellers in Lebanon, 
seventy thousand burthen bearers, 
eighty thousand hewers, and three 
thousand three hundred overseers, or 
in rotation, as explained, a total of 
one hundred and eighty-three thou- 
sand and three hundred Jews ; and if an 
equal num1)er of Phoenicians were 
added, an army of men amounting to 
three hundred and sixty-six thousand 
six hundred employed in this joint 
imdertaking, which explains, in con- 
juncticm with the geographical situation 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



19 



of Phoenicia, the necessity for Hiram's 
request, and the obligation of Solomon, 
as we find it in the i ith verse : " and 
Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand 
measures of wheat for lood for his 
household, and twent}^ measures of 
pure oil ; thus gave Solomon to Hiram 
3'ear l)y year. ' ' 

f' There is one point in this connec- 
tion which it is necessary to under- 
stand in order that we may obtain 
some light not only on the char- 



from the Greek, is very contrary to 
the art of the Hellenes. Grecian 
architecture starts from the principle 
of the division of the blocks of stone 
into small pieces, and avows this 
principle boldly. Never did the 
Greeks derive from Pentilecus blocks 
of a size at all comparable to those of 
Baalbec and Egypt. They saw no ad- 
vantage in them ; on thecontrar}^ they 
saw that with masses of this kind, 
which are to be used entire, the 










< -s- -' 




P'ig. II — Mural Decoration at Uxunial — after Charnav 



acteristics of Phoenician architect- 
ure and the substructions found in the 
Pacific, but also on the enormous 
army of laborers, or as they are 
called here ' ' burthen bearers, ' ' em- 
plo3'ed on this work. 

M. Renan, in his work on " Archi- 
tecture," says: "The foundation of 
Phoenician architecture is the carved 
rock, not the column, as with the 
Greeks. The wall replaces the curved 
rock without entirely losing its char- 
acter. Nothing conducts to the belief 
that the Phoenicians ever made use of 
the keyed vault. 

" The principle of monolithism, 
which ruled the Phoenician and vSyrian 
art even after it had adopted nuich 



architect had his hands tied ; the 
material, instead of being .subordinated 
to the design of the edifice, runs 
counter to the design." 

The Syrian and Phoenician archi- 
tects and even those of Egypt are at 
the command of their material. The 
stone does not submit to the shape 
which the artist's thoughts would 
impress upon it ; it continues to be 
with them mere rock, more or less, 
that is to say, undetermined matter. 
This is the reason why the Grecian 
architects never made what we meet 
with at ever}^ step in Phoenicia, at 
Jerusalem, in Persia, in Syria, in 
Phrygia — architectural works in the 
livinar rock. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA ? 

No. II. 



BY THOMAS CRAWFORD JOHNvSTOX. 



VAST walls, in which the courses 
are of colossal size, brought from 
the quarr}' in some .sort read}'- 
made, .so that the characteristic work 
of a building", made with care, was 
that " no sound of hannner or saw was 
heard during its erection ( i Kings iv 
and vii ) — such was the essential 
character of Phoenician monuments." 

The time consumed in the building 
of the temple, we learn from the 
6th chapter and 38th ver.se, was seven 
years ; and from the ytli chapter and 
ist verse, we learn that thirteen j^ears 
were occupied in the erection of the 
palace at Lebanon, while from the 
loth chapter and 2i.st verse, we 
gather .some information that .seems 
almost more wonderful than the erec- 
tion of the temple and palace, namel}', 
that while this enormous drain was 
still affecting the resources of the 
people, " all the ves.sels of the hoii.se 
of the forest of lyCbanon were of pure 
gold ; none were of silver: it was 
nothing accounted of in the da3-s of 
Solomon." While in the 27th ver.se, 
we read that, during this period, 
Solomon made silver to be in Jerusalem 
as stones ; and the writer, as if appre- 
ciating the incongruity of the facts 
related, offers in the 22d v'er.se what is 
intended to l)e a satisfactory explana- 
tion, namel}-, "For the king had at .sea 
a navy of Tharshi.sh with the navy of 
Hiram : once in three years came the 
navy of Tharshi.sh, bringing gold 
and .silver, ivory, and apes and pea- 
cocks. ' ' 

For a consideral)le time prior to this, 
Phoenician enterprise had opened a 
way by land acro.ss the larger portion 
of the western side of Asia, which 
placed them in communication with 
the A.s.svrians, the Babvlonians and the 



Persians. The course of this traffic is 
distinctly traceable as far as the mouth 
of the Indus, and must, being over- 
land, have been an unsati.sfactor}' 
method to .so distinctly a maritime 
people as they were ; for there is no 
doubt that whatever access they pos- 
.sessed to the Red Sea and the Indian 
Ocean for naval purposes was due to 
the favor of the Egyptians. Shortly 
before this date, however, Solomon, 
by his conquests of the Edomites, had 
come into po.ssession of the important 
seaport of Ezion-geber, at the head of 
the Gulf of Elam, on the Red Sea, and 
knowing how acceptable such a place 
would be to the Phoenicians, turned it 
over to them ; and it must have been a 
gift of no inconsiderable value, since it 
gave them access to a new port, under 
their own control, where they could 
build such ships as might be necessary- 
for the conduct of their bu.siness in 
the Indian Ocean and Ceylon, along 
the shores of both of which countries 
the>- had quite a large number of 
l)usiness centers. 

In return for the opening which 
they thus obtained for the extension 
of their bu.siness towards the ea.st, the 
Tyrians conceded to the Jews a par- 
ticipation in the trade, which the}' 
had carried on for so long a time with 
the nations in that direction; and to- 
wards its fuller development, two fleets 
were formed, to which each of the na- 
tions contributed both .ships and men. 

In I Kings ix, 26, we read : "And 
king vSolomon made a navy of ships 
in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, 
on the shore of the Red vSea, in the 
land of Edom. And Hiram .sent in the 
navy his .servants, shipmen that had 
knowledge of the .sea, with the .ser- 
vants of Solomon. And thev came to 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



21 



Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, 
four hundred and twenty talents, and 
brought it to King Solomon." 

The onh^ difficulty there is, in 
understanding this passage, is the 




Fig. 12 — Tablet of the Cross Palenque. 

mixture of the Phoenician navy with 
the ships of Tharshish, but this diffi- 
culty will disappear, when we recol- 
lect that vessels of that build were 
pre-eminently suitable for making 
long voyages and carrying large 
freights, which would be necessary, 
since it is expressly stated that these 
voyages were so extensive as to occupy 
a period of three years ; and the 
Phoenician ships of that time were 
little better than open boats, so that 
b}' dovetailing these facts, we arrive 
at the following proposition : That 
in connection with King Hiram, King 
Solomon built at Ezion-geber a navy 



after the pattern of the ships of Tharsh- 
ish, which were more suitable for 
carrying large freights and venturing 
on long v03'ages than the Phoenician 
biremes ; and officering and manning 
them with Phcenician seamen, 
sent them to or by the land of 
Ophir, on a series of voyages 
which occupied a period of three 
years each. 

To the Jews, all the land l}.'ing 
in the direction of the Indian 
Ocean, on the east side of Babel- 
mandeb, went b}- that name ; the 
term was as comprehensive as 
ours is, when we speak of travel- 
ing east or west. We know, 
however, that the territor}' in the 
direction of the Indian Ocean 
was more familiar to the Phoeni- 
cians than to any other nation 
of that time, for it is bej^ond 
question that their chief renown 
was not based on their caravan, 
l)ut on their maritime expedi- 
tions, and that the lower portions 
of the Indian peninsula were 
reached like Ceylon, as suggested 
by M. Ragozin, in his masterl}' 
work on Assyria, "in large 
armed vessels of the same build 
as the Tharshish ships,'' which 
were used in the expeditions to 
England. 

The question naturally arises 
here. Where did the.se large 
armed vessels go, since the period 
consumed in the voyages is ex- 
])ressly stated as three years, and the 
freight carried on the return voyages was 
gold, silver, ivor}', apes and peacocks ? 
It is only natural that we should 
find con.siderable difficulty in an.swer- 
ing this question, when we recollect 
that the vessels were manned by 
Phoenicians, who were accustomed to 
preserve with great secrecy the sea 
routes over which they traveled, and 
the destinations for wdiicli they set 
out, lest some other nation trading on 
their enterpri.se should follow and sup- 
plant them, as the Greeks had 
supplanted them nearer home. To 
such an extent was this precaution 



DID THE PH(_)EN1CIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



used, that a story has been preserved 
of a Phcenician captain, who, while on 
hi.s vo3"age to the "Tin Islands," as 
England was called, finding himself 
pursued by some Roman ships, and 
being unable to escape, deliberately 
ran his vessel ashore, losing vessel 
and cargo, besides drowning his crew, 
so that he might not be questioned, 
and the route found out — a deed 



ture. The cost of the vessels, the 
unique nature of the enterprise, and 
the importance of the voyages, drew 
into that charmed circle the very eli/e 
of Phoenician science and culture, that 
class of men who have passed beyond 
the merely animal tendency of life, 
and rising above fog and miasma, 
live in an atmosphere mainly intel- 
lectual — -men who dominate their 









>t:^-^% 




'^^., 












^- 



Xl"^^ 



-^_ 



'">*^ 






Fig. 13 — P\Tamid of the Moon and Pathway of the Dead. 



which was recorded at Tyre as one of 
the highest patriotic heroism. 

It is here that the average investi- 
gator has come to a standstill, and in 
consequence of this that so man}' 
curious answers have been given to 
the question. Where were the gold 
mines of Ophir, and this land that 
yielded to Solomon one 3-ear thirty 
million dollars and another twent}' 
million, and what evidence have we 
of the location ? 

It has seemed to me that the only 
way in which we could obtain light 
on this enigma was by following the 
traces of Phoenician influence and civ- 
ilization, and this the more so when 
we bear in mind the class of men who 
officered these fleets, some account of 
which we find in the 27th chapter of 
Ezekiel. This was no rude. uneducated 
horde, set adrift on vovages of adven- 



surroundings, and in touching them, 
leave an indelible trace of their pres- 
ence and influence behind them. 
" The inhabitants of Zidon and iVrvad 
were thy mariners, thy wise men that 
were in thee, O Tyrus, were thy pilots. ' ' 
(Ezekiel 27th chapter, Stli verse.) 

We are still, however, confronted 
by mau}^ difficulties, for though the 
Phoenicians jn vented the alphabet, 
and possessed a literarj' and scientific 
knowledge of a high order, they seem 
to have turned it all into practical 
channels ; so much so. indeed, was this 
the case, that they do not appear to 
have written any memorial of their 
extraordinary career as a nation, or 
of their exploits and adventure as 
merchantmen and pioneers, although 
their experiences in many cases must 
have l)een as thrilling as they were 
uniciue. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



23 



The object of the Phoenician mer- 
chant was wealth, not fame, and while 
possessing that unique quality of 
inflexibility of purpose which won for 
them in their own, if not for all time, 
a pre-eminent position among nations 
the}' seem to have stopped there ; for 
record other than fragments, we have 
found none. 

Their enterprise it is impossible to 
overrate. About the time of which 
we write, their business establishments 
were spread not onlv along the shores 



eastward, for apart from the dangers 
that beset the coast line of Europe, 
and the tempestuous Bay of Bisca}^ 
on the voyage to England, the Phoeni- 
cians from the most ancient times 
believed that the pillars of Hercules — 
those sentinel gate posts of the Strait 
of Gibraltar — marked the end of the 
world, beyond which lay the mysteri- 
ous deep, into which Baal Melkarth, 
the glorious sun-god, plunged nightly, 
on his journey to the east, and whither 
it was sacrileoe for mortals to follow. 




l''ig. 14— Chart ot Plutiiician Travel. 



of the Mediterranean, from Phoenicia 
to the Atlantic, but also along the 
entire sea route from Ezion-geber and 
the Red Sea to Ceylon. What need 
was there, pray, for a new and double 
fleet to pursue this course ? The navi- 
gation of the .seas to the westward 
required not only courage, but an 
abandon, with respect to religious 
prejudice, that it is hard for us with 
the larger mental liberty, that is the 
birthright of Christianity, to realize ; 
and that did not and could not condi- 
tion the navigation of the ocean to the 



If the reader will now take up the 
map of the world, he will, I think, 
obtain some new light on this enigma. 
By following the line, from the head 
of the Red Sea down to the Straits of 
Babelmandeb, and from that to the 
coast of India, and on to Ceylon, he 
will have before him the known track 
of Phoenician commerce ; but if from 
Ceylon he will continue the line to 
Java and Sumatra, and from thence to 
Mulgrave Island, in Torres Strait, pro- 
ceeding to the Caroline Islands, Tonga, 
Samoa, Rappa, in the Austral group. 



24 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



and from thence to Easter Island, con- 
necting therewith the coast of Amer- 
ica, at Mexico and Peru, he will have 
located a series of islands and points 
on the mainland, which contain 
remains of substructions of a charac- 
ter identical with those found under 
the remnants of Solomon's Temple, 
and marked with those peculiarities 
described by M. Renan, which he 
demonstrates were not only a marked 
feature, but were indeed characteris- 
tically peculiar to Phoenician archi- 
tecture. 

If we now follow the northern line, 
and enter Mexico at Yucatan, we are 
confronted by buildings that not only 
contain evidence of this peculiar 
Phoenician method, in the size and 
nature of the substructions, but whose 
composite decorations leave no room 
for doubt as to their origin. Not only 
do we find strong evidence of Greek, 
Egyptian and Assyrian influence, but 
also, in plainest form, the Phoenician 
wall previously referred to. 

What nation of ancient times but 
that of Phoenicia ever was permitted 
to have a foothold in the land of the 
Pharaohs, of a nature that would 
influence them to such sympathy with 
Egyptian art as would lead them in 
other lands, and among a new set of 
surroundings to reproduce it ? There 
was none. To the civilization of the 
period, of which we write, Egypt was 
as completely closed as China, one 
hundred and fifty years ago. One 
nation, and one nation only, was per- 
mitted to possess a permanent home 
in its boundaries, and that one l)ecau.se 
it was well known that the supremacy 
it sought was mercantile, and not 
territorial, in con.sequence of which it 
so won upon the Egyptians, as not 
onh^ to be permitted to establish itself 
at Memphis, and erect a temple for 
the worship of its own gods, but so 
completely subordinating Eg3'ptian 
prejudice, as in late years to have 
some portion of its deities added to 
the Egyptian pantheon. 

The Egyptians never were seamen. 
How, then, do we find so strong an 



Egyptian influence among the remains 
of the ancient cities of the New 
World ? The explanation is a simple 
one. It is not Egyptian, but Phoeni- 
cian art, and this the more so that the 



\ - 







Fig. 15— Aztec Idol — Egyptian Type. 

type is not merely Egyptian, but quite 
as .strongly Greek and A.ssyrian. 

It is a somewhat remarkable fact that 
the Phoenicians had an almost uninter- 
rupted intercourse with the Greeks, 
Persians, A.s.syrians and Jews, as well 
as the Egyptians, and it seems that 
their commercial supremacy and the 
advantage which the a.s.sociation gave 
to the.se countries was the means of 
engendering not onl}- a native skill, 
but also a versatility and range of 
method and design in art, as well as 
architecture, that was not obtained 1)\- 
any other of their time. 

We could scarcely expect to find 
nuicli similarity between Greek and 
Egyptian architecture or art. The 
intercourse between the.se nations was 
nuich too casual to warrant one look- 
ing for it, l)Ut it would not be unreas- 
onable to expect evidence of the influ- 
ence of both of these countries as well as 
of the others previously mentioned in 
Phoenician remains, when we recol- 
lect that the workshops and merchants 
of Phoenicia made it their peculiar 
business to cater to the needs of all of 
them ; and curiou.sly enough, the art 
and the architecture found in Mexico 
are just such as we would expect to 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



25 



find produced by such a set of cir- 
cumstances, when the restrictions of 
a local market and a peculiar need 
were removed. 

In the architecture, as we see from 
these photographs after M. Desire 
Charna}', the buildings are, as de- 
scribed b}^ M. Renan, of pronouncedlj- 
Phoenician origin, and the decoration 
not only Egyptian, l^ut Greek, with 
an unmistakable trace of Assyrian and 
Persian, while, when we come to the 
art of the Aztec, we find that the mo- 
tive in the winged vase from Mexico 
contained in the figure, is no other 
than the winged disk of Egypt and 
Phoenicia (Fig. 17). 

We shall, however, leave this aspect 
of the question, by simply calling 
attention to the pieces of mural decor- 
ation which speak so emphatically for 
themselves, in the light of the fore- 
going, and shall pass shorth' to the 
religious beliefs of the Aztecs and 
Phoenicians, where we shall meet a 
series of not only corroborative, but of 
startlingly corroborative facts. 

Starting originally as monotheists, 
the Phoenicians, in process of time, 
clothed each of the attributes of the 
deity with a distinct personality, 
which quickly developed into Poly- 
theism, with a principal god and a 
number of lesser and tributary deities, 
who were supposed to act under his 
guidance, and subject to his control ; 
and so widespread was the influence 
of this form of belief emanating from 
them, that it became not only the 
basis of the Greek and Roman super- 
stitions, but in various modifications 
seems to have overrun the face of the 
earth, as peopled at that time. In 
process of time, liowe\-er, strange 
developments were produced by this 
mongrel worship and the decadence 
from their once simple and pure faith, 
so that the original conception of the 
deity was ultimately buried beneath a 
mass of superstition, that in time 
sapped the ver}- vitals of Phoenicia, as 
a nation. 

Having once embarked in poly- 
theism, the Phceincians soon imported 



into their system new and strange 
ideas of the deity. Baal became 
identified with the sun, and Ashtoreth 
with the moon, and a general belief that 
the anger of the gods was best averted 
by human sacrifice prevailed ; and to 
such an extent did this prevail, that 
in the later years of the nation's his- 
tor}' not only in Phoenicia proper, but 
throughout its entire colonial S3'stem, 
there was an established practice of 
offering up human sacrifices, especially 
in times of public calamity, which 
bore the most terrible aspects in par- 
ents sacrificing their children to Baal, 
under the presumption that being the 
most precious possession of parents, 
they were the offering most certain to 
appease the wrath of the supernal 
powers. When we now come to the 
Pacific, we find the traces of this belief 
spread from shore to shore, not only 
in exact form in Samoa and Tahiti, 
but sacrifice by mutilation in nearly 
ever}' island on this route laid down, 
and as might be expected in most 
pronounced form, where the largest 
traces of their influence and civiliza- 
tion are most apparent. 

Among the early inhabitants of 
Mexico, human sacrifice prevailed to 
an appalling extent, and, curiousl)- 
enough, we find that the deity at 
whose shrine this usually took place 
was one which, wliile going under 
another name, corresponds exactl)' 
with the Phoenician Baal or Moloch, 
this deity, among the Aztecs, being 
represented b}- an image, half-human, 
half-brute, with a cavity in front ; and 
when we turn to the Chinchemecs, we 
find the old and distincth^ Phoenician 
cu.stom of an open-air worship of the 
sun and the moon, and the strange 
usage of presenting to the .sun the 
bleeding heart, torn from the victim 
l)efore throwing it with the rest of the 
carcass at the feet of the image to be 
consumed with fire, while as many as 
twent}' thousand victims were ofi^ered 
some years as a propitiation not confined 
by an}' means to adults, but as in the 
more degenerate days of Phoenicia, 
including children of 1)oth .sexes. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



27 



lyike the Samoans and Tahitians, 
the Aztec's idea of a .supreme being 
was that he was independent, abso- 
lute and invisible ; so much so, that 
none of these peoples ever attempted 
to represent him by image. Not 
only did the Aztec, like the Samoan 
and Maori, believe in the existence 
of the soul as distinct from the body, 
and regard it as immortal, but they 
located the entrance to the other 
world at a determined point to the 



tion of the early Phoenician pantheon — 
being men who found out and taught 
to mankind this secret. Not fire by 
drilling, nor fire by striking stones, 
but fire produced by the friction of 
portions of the branches of trees ; and 
on the line of this migration across 
the Pacific, not only in Samoa, Tahiti, 
and Easter Island, but in Peru and 
Mexico the plan pursued is the same, 
and there seems to be no doubt that it 
was of peculiarly Phoenician origin. 



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Fig. ]6— Mural Decoration, Palenque 



westward, a circumstance that speaks 
volumesfortheirorigin.and which finds 
an interesting correspondence, not only 
in the Samoan Falealupo, but among 
the Marquesans. These, from time 
immemorial, but certainly reaching to 
a date within historic record, fitted 
out expeditions, and ventured on long 
voyages in. search of the Elysium, which 
the tradition of their ancestors reported 
lay in a land toward the .setting sun. 

Again, we find a correspondence in 
the Aztec plan of making fire. Philo 
ascribes to the Phoenicians the dis- 
covery of the means of producing fire 
by the friction of two pieces of dry 
wood, Phos, Phur and Phlox — a por- 



But why attempt to continue this 
argument ? I have in ni}- possession 
still some twenty points of striking 
.similarity between the Aztecs and 
the Phoenicians, and most of these are 
of a nature that removes them out of 
the sphere of chance. But I forbear, 
for there has surely been enough said 
to convince the mo.st .skeptical as to 
the connection between the Phoenician 
and the Aztec. 

In conclu.sion I quote some short 
paragraphs from the ' ' Enc}'clopedia 
Britannica's " article on " America " 
that .seem so pertinent to the whole line 
of this research, as to make a suitable 
setting to all that has preceded. 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



" \'otan, it seems, came from a for- 
eign land, and fomid the whole conn- 
try, from Darien to California, occn- 
pied by a barbarous people. Votan 
and his followers arrived in large ships, 
and wore long, flowing garments." 
According to one document by Ordonez 
this event is laid a thousand years 
before Christ. 

It is desirable to notice that this 
date corresponds exacth' ^vith the 
dates given in the Bible narrative of 
the historic voyages of Hiram and 
Solomon, and the building of the 
temple, Avhich was about looo B. C. 
" This journey to America from their 
native country was a long and painful 
one and indicates that seas and lands 
intervened between them. The tradi- 
tion reports it to be in the far East, 
and that the first comers filled seven 
ships." 

' ' Votan made four voj'ages to his 
native land, and on one of these vo}-- 
ages he visited the dwelling of the 
thirteen serpents. ' ' 

This undoubtedly refers to the tem- 
ple in the ancient City of Benares on 
the River Ganges. 

This City of Benares is one of the 
most ancient on the face of the globe, 
and was the religious center of India 
for centuries before the Christian era, 
being the birthplace of Hindoo 
mythology. Here special attention 
was given to the worship of the gods 
incarnate in the serpent and monkej^ 

The Rev. Mr. Sherring, in his 
"Sacred City of the Hindoos " (1868) 
says : 

"Twenty-five centuries ago, at 
least, it was famous, when Babylon 
was struggling with Nineveh for 
supremacy, when Tyre was planting 
her colonies, when Athens was grow- 
ing in strength, before Rome had 
become known, or Greece had con- 
tended with Persia, or Cyrus had 
added luster to the Persian monarchy, 
or Nebuchadnezzar had captured Jeru- 
.salem, and the inhabitants had l)een 
carried into captivity, she had alread\- 
risen to greatness, if not to glory. 
Nay, she may have heard of the 



fame of vSolomon, and sent her 
ivory, her apes and her peacocks to 
adorn his palaces, while partly with 
her gold she ma}' have overlaid the 
Temple of the L,ord. ' ' 

All of which receives a peculiar 
value in the light of what has preceded. 




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Fig. 17 — Aztec Vase, witli Winded Disc Ssmbol. 

and is emphasized, if a little attention 
be given to the Aztec Molloch, where 
the drapery of the image will be found 
to be serpentine in form, and bearing 
the symbolic four hands of the goddess 
Kali, the wife of Shira, to whom the 
"Monkey temple," at Benares was 
erected, and at whose shrine daily 
sacrifices of human victims were 
offered, up to a comparatively recent 
date, when the English Government 
interfered. 

" \'otan also visited the ruins of an 
old building which had been erected 
by men for the purpose of reaching 
heaven. The people who lived in its 
vicinity told him it was the place 
where God had given to each family 
its particular language." 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



29 



We have no difficulty in recognizing 
this as referring to the ' ' Tower of 
Babel," at Borsippa, a suburlj of 
Bab3^1on, and in doing so the chain 
becomes, link by link, more complete ; 
but curiously enough the case does 
not rest even here, for Humboldt in 



nations received it from a common 
source, and no one so perfectly fills 
all the necessary conditions of the 
case as the Phoenicians. 

If anything more were necessary 
to a complete establishment of this 
theory, we find it in another interest- 







Fig. iS— Aztec Molloch. 



describing the Aztec cycle of fifty-two 
years, gives strong rea.son for believing 
that it was borrowed from an ancient 
Zodiac formed of twenty-seven or 
twenty-eight lunar houses, which was 
made use of from the remotest 
antiquity, in Tartary, Thibet and 
India, which divided the month into 
four weeks of five days, and enable 
us to trace a distinct connection be- 
tween the Mexican and the Asiatic 
nations. Of course, we are com- 
pelled to believe that these several 



ing paragraph from the same source 
which says : 

' ' The architectural character of the 
oldest towns lend some support to the 
considerable antiquity claimed for 
them." 

"The ruins of Mexico and Central 
America present .so many different 
architectural styles, that it .seems very 
probable that they were built at dif- 
ferent times, and by different peoples. 
Tho.se which appear to be oldest, 
and which are most uniform in 



30 



DID THE PHOENICIANS DISCOVER AMERICA? 



style are, the sul)structures in Maya- 
pam . ' ' 

The native traditions held that 
Quetzalcoatl traversed the peninsula, 
from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and 
on reaching the last ocean, sent back 
his companions to tell the Cholulans 
that in a future age his brothers, 
■white men and bearded like himself, 
would land there from the sea, 
where the sun rises, and come to rule 
the country." 

To this I append a note of the gold 
and silver yield of Mexico, in support 
of the contention that this was the 
location referred to in Scripture. 



$70,000,000 $2,090,000,000 $2,160,000,000 

1537 to 1821. . ./"i4,ooo.ooo ^418,000,000 ^432,000,000 

$50,000,000 $900,000,000 $950,000,000 

1S21 to iSSo. . .^10,000,000 ^180,000,000 ^190,000,000 



^24,000,000 ^598,000,000 ^622,000,000 

$120,000,000 $2,990,000,000 $3,110,000,000 

SYNOPSIS. 

First. — We find a correspondence 
between the architectural remains in 
Mexico and those of Europe and Asia. 



vSecond. — We find that the details of 
this art are not a distinct type but 
composite, and the product of a variety 
of sources. 

Third. — We segregate this com- 
posite art, and reduce it to its original 
sources. 

Fourth. — We determine the nation, 
and the condition under which the 
amalgamation took place. 

Fifth. — We show that they were 
the only people capable of making 
this journey and this amalgamation. 

Sixth. — We know that they made 
such journeys. 

Seventh. — We show a motive for 
these journeys. 

Eighth. — We trace the course they 
pursued . 

Ninth. — We determine from historic 
records the date at which the journe}^ 
took place. 

Tenth. — iVnd show that the religious 
beliefs of both were identical, and 
consequently conclude that in conse- 
quence of this and the other matters 
referred to, the Aztec was the product 
of Phoenician adventure and " civili-- 
zation. ^•^" ^-"^ 



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